Nujabes

1974–1998: Early life and career beginnings

Seba was born as Jun Yamada^[2] on February 7, 1974, in the Nishi-Azabu district of Minato in central Tokyo, Japan. He grew up in eastern Tokyo, the city where he would remain in for all his life.^[3]

Seba's father worked for the National Tax Agency, but was an amateur jazz pianist and exposed him to music at a young age.^[4][5] Seba dabbled in music-making since high school and studied design at the Nihon University College of Art.^[1][5]

In 1995 (shortly after graduating, at the age of 21) much to the dismay of his father but supported by his mother, Seba opened a record store in Shibuya called Bongo Fury Records, later renamed to Guinness Records.^[2] The selection skewed away from commercial releases, mostly featuring underground hip-hop.^[6][1]

While operating Guinness Records, Seba began exploring different aspects of the music industry. In 1996 he started writing for music magazines under the pen name Seba Jun.^[7] Then, under the moniker Dimention Ball, he started making his own beats and pressing them into vinyl to sell in the store.^[6]

1998–2003: The start of Hydeout Productions and early collaborations

In 1998 he founded an independent record label first known as Hyde Out Recordings, then as Hyde Out Productions, and ultimately renamed to Hydeout Productions.^[6] In the same year, he released a 36-track mixtape titled Sweet Sticky Thing ~Reload All Good Music From Old To The New~. The name was a nod to Ohio Players's homonymous track in their seminal album Honey. This was the first full-length work to be signed under the moniker Nujabes (his name spelled backwards).^[6]

In 1999 he released his first 12" recording, Ain’t No Mystery, in collaboration with Verbal (at the time known as L Universe). In the same year he also released Peoples Don’t Stray in collaboration with Funky DL. In 1999 he discovered Substantial through the mutual friend, rapper, and employee of the store, Sphere of Influence [jp] , and in 2000, he flew Substantial to Japan to collaborate for a month on what would become Substantial's debut album: To This Union A Sun Was Born.^[1] Both Funky DL and Substantial would go on to become lifelong collaborators.^[1][6]

In 2000 he met the MC Shing02 in Tokyo, and exchanged music with him. One track in particular stood out to Shing02, a beat that Seba had created for American producer and songwriter Pase Rock. Shing02, who already knew Pase Rock thanks to a previous collaboration, obtained permission from him to use the beat, and thus, in 2001, the track "Luv(sic)" was born.^[6] This was the first track of the Luv(sic) Hexalogy, one of Seba's most popular and influential works. The second track, "Luv(sic) Part 2" followed shortly in 2002, after the September 11 attacks forced Shing02 to stay in Tokyo longer than expected.^[8]

Between 2001 and 2004 he collaborated with Nao Tokui, an artist and AI technology researcher, on a shared project called URBANFOREST.^[9] Despite spending many days together over the years, experimenting with Max software and listening to new music, they only finished one track together, "Rotary Park", one of Seba's most experimental works.^[6]

In 2003 he opened a second record store, affiliated with Hydeout Productions, called Tribe.^[10]

2003: 1st collection and Metaphorical Music

In April 2003, Seba put together a compilation album from songs produced by Hydeout Productions, Hydeout Productions 1st Collection, which featured artists such as Funky DL, Apani B. Fly, Substantial, Shing02, L-Universe, Pase Rock, Five Deez, Uyama Hiroto, and Cise Starr.^[11]

In August 2003, Seba released his debut studio album, Metaphorical Music. Recorded and mixed in Seba's private Park Avenue Studio, the album's initial release was modest, with recognition growing significantly in later years, to eventually become a cult classic.^[6]

2004: Samurai Champloo and international recognition

Seba was one of the main contributors to the soundtrack of the anime series Samurai Champloo directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, which blended a feudal Japanese setting with modern anachronisms, such as hip hop culture, graffiti, and rapping.^[12] This is where he met rapper Fat Jon, who would become a friend, collaborator, and strong influence on Seba's later work.^[6]

While Samurai Champloo was met with lukewarm reception in Japan,^[13] it was critically acclaimed and developed a cult following in the West, partially due to its soundtrack which was widely praised^[14][15][16] and was ranked by IGN as tenth among their Top Ten Anime Themes and Soundtracks of All Time.^[17] To this project Seba contributed some of the most popular tracks: the opening theme "Battlecry" (another collaboration with Shing02), "Aruarian Dance", which spread virally through the internet,^[18] and "Departure" and "Impression" which became seminal works for lo-fi hip hop artists.^[6][13] This success catapulted Seba, who at the time was still an underground figure, into the international spotlight and reached many fans who would later discover his earlier works.^[13]

2005–2007: 2nd collection and Modal Soul

In 2005 Seba released his second studio album, Modal Soul. Like his debut album, Modal Soul fuses jazzy, smooth rhythms and hip hop, but with more downtempo and a different quality to transitions and mixing that has been attributed to Fat Jon's influence. The fourth track is another installment of his collaboration with Shing02, "Luv(sic) Part 3".^[6]

In 2007 Seba released another compilation album that would be his very last, Hydeout Productions 2nd Collection. The album features some of his most recurring collaborators such as Pase Rock, Uyama Hiroto, and Shing02.^[6]

2010–2013: Death and posthumous work

On February 26, 2010, Seba was involved in a traffic collision leaving the Shuto Expressway in Tokyo: he was taken to a hospital in Shibuya Ward, where he was pronounced dead after efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.^[19][20] Seba is buried in Tama Cemetery, Tokyo.^[21]

His death interrupted work on his third studio album, Spiritual State, and his decade-long collaboration with Shing02, the Luv(sic) hexalogy, both of which have been completed posthumously by his friends and collaborators.^[22]

Studio albums

• Metaphorical Music (2003)
• Modal Soul (2005)
• Spiritual State (2011)

Compilation albums

• Hydeout Productions 1st Collection (2003)
• Hydeout Productions 2nd Collection (2007)
• Modal Soul Classics (2008)
• Modal Soul Classics II (2010)
• Free Soul Nujabes First Collection (2014)
• Free Soul Nujabes Second Collection (2014)
• Luv(sic) Hexalogy (with Shing02) (2015)

Soundtrack albums

• Samurai Champloo Music Record: Departure (2004)
• Samurai Champloo Music Record: Impression (2004)

Collaborative albums

• To This Union a Sun Was Born (with Substantial) (2001)
• Bullshit as Usual (with Pase Rock) (2003)

Official mixtapes

• Sweet Sticky Thing (1999)
• Good Music Cuisine - Ristorante Nujabes (2002)

EPs and singles

• Ain't No Mystery (1999)
• "Dimension Ball Tracks Volume 1" (2001)
• Luv(sic) Part 1 - Part 6 (2002–2013)
• "Blessing It/The Final View" (2002)
• "Flower/After Hanabi (Listen To My Beat") (2003)
• "Next View" (2003)
• "Lady Brown" (2003)
• "F.I.L.O" (2003)
• "Still Talking To You/Steadfast" (2003)
• Perfect Circle (with Shing02) (2015)

Hydeout Productions discography

• Nujabes - Sweet Sticky Thing (1999)
• Substantial - To This Union a Sun Was Born (2001)
• Monorisick - Hydrothermal Formation (2001)
• Nujabes - Good Music Cuisine Ristorante Nujabes (2002)
• Pase Rock - Bullshit as Usual (2003)
• Nujabes - Hydeout Productions 1st Collection (2003)
• Nujabes - Metaphorical Music (2003)
• Nujabes - Modal Soul (2005)
• Jemapur - Dok Springs (2006)
• Emancipator - Soon It Will Be Cold Enough (Japanese release only) (2006)
• Nujabes - Hydeout Productions 2nd Collection (2007)
• Various Artists - Modal Soul Classics (2008)
• Uyama Hiroto - A Son of The Sun (2008)
• Kenmochi Hidefumi - Falliccia (2008)
• Various Artists - Modal Soul Classics II (2010)
• Nujabes - Spiritual State (2011)
• Haruka Nakamura - Melodica (2013)
• Ficus - Black Foliage (2013)
• Various Artists - Free Soul Nujabes First Collection (2014)
• Various Artists - Free Soul Nujabes Second Collection (2014)
• Nujabes feat. Shing02 - Luv(sic) Hexalogy (2015)
• Haruka Nakamura - Nujabes Pray Reflections (2021)